WestRock (NYSE:WRK) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume

Shares of WestRock (NYSE:WRK) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Tuesday . Approximately 932,965 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the previous session’s volume of 2,364,770 shares.The stock last traded at $49.07 and had previously closed at $49.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WRK shares. StockNews.com started coverage on WestRock in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on WestRock from $46.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on WestRock from $51.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Argus lifted their target price on WestRock from $50.00 to $57.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, WestRock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $51.75.

WestRock Stock Up 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $12.79 billion, a PE ratio of 41.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $51.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.83.

WestRock (NYSE:WRK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The basic materials company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.14. WestRock had a return on equity of 5.85% and a net margin of 1.57%. The company had revenue of $4.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.75 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. WestRock’s revenue was down 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that WestRock will post 2.16 EPS for the current year.

WestRock Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.3025 per share. This represents a $1.21 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 13th. WestRock’s payout ratio is 101.68%.

Insider Transactions at WestRock

In other WestRock news, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.46, for a total value of $499,162.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 74,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,856,721.16. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other WestRock news, insider John L. O’neal sold 6,965 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.47, for a total value of $358,488.55. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 60,491 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,113,471.77. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Denise R. Singleton sold 9,700 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.46, for a total value of $499,162.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 74,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,856,721.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.49% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of WestRock

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WRK. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in WestRock by 268.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A bought a new stake in WestRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its position in WestRock by 59.0% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 862 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. First United Bank & Trust bought a new stake in WestRock in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in WestRock in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Institutional investors own 83.38% of the company’s stock.

About WestRock

WestRock Company, together with its subsidiaries, provides fiber-based paper and packaging solutions in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Corrugated Packaging, Consumer Packaging, Global Paper, and Distribution. The Corrugated Packaging segment produces containerboards, corrugated sheets, corrugated packaging, and preprinted linerboards to consumer and industrial products manufacturers, and corrugated box manufacturers.